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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26001016">pretty little thing</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deanon/pseuds/Deanon'>Deanon</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Manipulation, Multi, Non-Consensual Kink</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 03:34:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Rape/Non-Con</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,316</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26001016</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deanon/pseuds/Deanon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>he lives to please</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Varro Saturneia/Taia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>pretty little thing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Varro wasn’t sure what kind of person had a suite of rooms at one of the flashiest, most discreet hotels in the city on reserve. His kind of person, he guessed. The kind of person with access to a lot of money and a lot of business they didn’t want tied to their home address.</p><p> </p><p>Speaking of.</p><p> </p><p>“Prince Saturneia,” Taia greeted, rising from her seat by the window. He noticed her perfume before he saw her expression, and his stomach backflipped; it was a sensual scent, not one she wore to work or even out on the town. “You’re always so kind to meet me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Taia.” He smiled at her, kissed her hand, grinned up at her through his lashes as he did. “You don’t need to be so formal with me when we’re alone.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, I think you’re familiar enough for both of us.”</p><p> </p><p>He flinched at the reproach in her tone. “I’m - I apologize, Official - “</p><p> </p><p>“I’m teasing, Varro.” She tapped his chin to get him looking up at him, and smiled in a way that didn’t reach her eyes. “Don’t be so serious, it makes me feel old.”</p><p> </p><p>“I.” He swallowed, and formed his expression into a smile. She made his heart do backflips, made his stomach tie in knots. It was almost like actual affection. “You’re a long way off yet from being old.” </p><p> </p><p>“Oh, I know.” She backed away from him. “Have a drink with me?”</p><p> </p><p>He courteously offered to pour the drinks, which gave him the opportunity to go a little heavy on his - and she noticed, eyes sharp on his hands, but she didn’t comment. They settled in, chairs a few feet apart, and she settled into talking business.</p><p> </p><p>“There’s a bill being introduced to the council next week, one that I think you’ll have an interest in.” He made a noise of interest into his drink. “They’re looking to do something about the homelessness problem in the third district.”</p><p> </p><p>He couldn’t help his genuine pleasure at that, but. “That’s been an issue for years?”</p><p> </p><p>“And now it’s becoming an unsightly one. There’s been more press around in the third district - “ She raised an eyebrow at him, but he refused to blush - “and so more talk of the more… neglected parts. It became a valuable PR move.”</p><p> </p><p>He swallowed down the lump in his throat and forced his voice to come out steady when he jumped right to the point. “And you need my help.”</p><p> </p><p>Taia’s grin was all sharp around the edges. She swirled her glass, leaned forward. “You’ve gotten a bit of a reputation, you know. Prince Astra, willing to whore himself out to those with the right kinds of power.”</p><p> </p><p>His tongue felt numb. Maybe that was just the liquor; he was halfway through his glass and he already felt warmer, lighter. “I’ve never minded mixing business and pleasure. Especially when I can help others with it.”</p><p> </p><p>Taia rose and walked over to him, coming to stand in between his legs. She leaned down over him, hands coming through his hair. “Don’t flatter yourself,” she murmured, close as a lover. He leaned into her, hands coming to the silky fabric of her suit, head foggy with her perfume. “I’ve seen how you behave at clubs. Claim altruism all you want, I know you’re just a slut.”</p><p> </p><p>He leaned forward and, when she didn’t pull away, pressed a kiss to her sternum, between her breasts. His heart beat unsteadily, but if he just didn’t think, it wasn’t too hard to convince himself that this was affectionate teasing. (Wasn’t it?) “I don’t mind mixing pleasure and pleasure, either.”</p><p> </p><p>She laughed, and he could feel it through his lips. “Well, hopefully this will be enough of both.”</p><p> </p><p>He pulled back to meet her eyes. “Who is it this time?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well,” Taia said. Her hands left his hair and began to unwind something from her arm which he had taken for an accessory. “The flip side of your reputation is that there are a few who doubt your… discretion.”</p><p> </p><p>The side of his mouth ticked up. “Isn’t it you that’s always doing the gossipping?” </p><p> </p><p>He realized his mistake a second later. She pulled back from him, digging her nails harshly into his shoulder, eyes cold. “What are you saying?”</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing!” His voice came out too high, too fast. Obviously lying. Shit. He kept talking before she could call him on it. “Only that you do an excellent job helping me with getting legislation through. Of course, I do enough on my own to more than earn my reputation as a slut.” He laughed at himself.</p><p> </p><p>Her grip relaxed. He exhaled.</p><p> </p><p>“Good. Well. <em> Thanks </em> to that, there is someone who is willing to assist us with getting the third district bill on the right desks, maybe even leaking it to the right papers, and they trust your skills in bed to make it worth their while, But they <em> don’t </em> trust you to keep your mouth shut about their… proclivities.”</p><p> </p><p>“You know I can be discrete if I need to be,” Varro pointed out. He carefully did not say <em> you, of all people </em>, but knew she heard it anyways by the way her grip tightened again. </p><p> </p><p>“But they don’t.”</p><p> </p><p>He bit his lip, cast his mind around for a strategy here. Was she testing him? She should know better. He was no good at strategy. “How do I convince them?” </p><p> </p><p>She smiled down at him with the closest thing to genuine affection he’d seen all night. “Oh, sweet idiot,” she said. “You don’t.” </p><p> </p><p>While his eyebrows were still drawing together, the scarf that had been attached to her wrist dragged over his face, tightened over his eyes, as her hands worked deftly to tie it behind his head. Though he was able to blink his eyes open, it was purely black, far more so than the fabric should normally allow. </p><p> </p><p>He swallowed, slow, hands working on her waist, heartbeat too loud in his ears. Taia was still close to him, which was some small relief, but he still wasn’t sure he… “Taia?” </p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” she said softly, with the kind of desire he hadn’t heard from her in years. It made him feel warm, mixing with the alcohol in him to relax his limbs, to let his eyes drift shut so the darkness wasn’t so oppressive. Like this, she was just a silky slide of skin and the warm touch of perfume when her hand brushed his face. “Pretty little thing. Why haven’t we done this before?”</p><p> </p><p>He didn’t have an answer, didn’t want to try his luck on a teasing <em> who says I haven’t? </em> when she was still touching him gently. He just pressed a kiss to her wrist, instead.</p><p> </p><p>She got off of him quickly, too quickly, so fast his eyes snapped open and disorientation seized him again when the world stayed black. He couldn’t feel her; his skin went cold too fast after she left him, except where it was flushing his cheeks. “Come on,” she said, still close by, and reached down to grab him by the shoulder with a business-like grasp. “Let’s get you dressed up. They’ll be here soon.”</p><p> </p><p>It made something dark and sick swirl in his stomach, to realize that he’d soon be like this in front of - not a stranger, but worse, someone who didn’t trust him. Someone he couldn’t trust. He wanted to ask Taia if she would stay with him for this one, but he couldn’t. That was up to his… partner, not him, not even her. He made himself grin instead. He let the thought of her desire wrap around him like a shroud; maybe his partner would be just as enchanted to see him helpless. He could only hope. He leaned his face towards Taia with masked eyes and got to hear her breath stutter again. “Well then. Lead the way.” </p>
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